Quality Management in Vocational Training: The Use of Standards andtheir Different Applications

Table of ContentsQuality Management in Vocational Training: The Use of Standards and their Different Applications.....1

Acknowledgements.................................................................................................................................2Preface...................................................................................................................................................21. The concept of quality management in vocational training.................................................................3

1.1 Standards and quality assurance...............................................................................................51.2 Quality management, knowledge and institutional learning.......................................................5

2. Quality Management in vocational training institutions.......................................................................72.1 Some experiences on quality certification in vocational training institutions..............................82.2 Brief Survey on quality management: motivations, benefits, learned lessons.........................16

3. Three quality standards in perspective.............................................................................................213.1 Standard on quality management............................................................................................213.2 The standard for the processes of training and development of human resources.................233.3 The certification of bodies operating certification of persons...................................................243.4 Concluding remarks.................................................................................................................25

Annex 1. The International Standardization Organization (ISO) and the ISO 9000 family of standards.............................................................................................................................................27Annex 2. Guidelines on quality systems. Part 5: Guidelines for the AS/NZS ISO 9001:1994 Quality system standard on education and training.............................................................................28Annex 3. Terms and definitions for educational organizations on the “Guidelines for the ISO 9000:2000 application proposed on the IWA−2”.................................................................................29Annex 4. Quality management guidelines for training. ISO 10015:1999..............................................30Annex 5. General requirements for bodies operating the certification of persons. ISO/IEC DIS 17024...................................................................................................................................................31Bibliography..........................................................................................................................................32

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Quality Management in Vocational Training: The Use of Standards andtheir Different Applications

Fernando Vargas Zúñiga

SDC SWISS AGENCYFOR DEVELOPMENT AND COOPERATION

International LabourOffice

CINTERFOR

Copyright © International Labour Organization (Cinterfor/ILO) 2004First edition: Montevideo, 2004

Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal CopyrightConvention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on conditionthat the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to thePublications Bureau (Rights and Permissions), International Labour Office, CH−1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland.The International Labour Office welcomes such applications.

VARGAS ZUÑIGA, F.

Quality management in vocational training: the use of standards and their different applications.Montevideo:CINTERFOR, 2004.

65 p. (Papeles de la Oficina Técnica, 12)

Bibliografía: p.63−65ISBN: 92−9088−168−2Título original: La gestión de la calidad en la formación profesional: el uso de estándares y sus diferentesaplicaciones.

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Acknowledgements

The author, in the name of Cinterfor/ILO wishes to express his gratitude to all those who contributedinvaluable information and experiences for the development of this book; special thanks are due to:

• María Ledvia Berganza, Manager of INTECAP

• Giane Rita de Souza Ferreira. Process Management Manager. SENAC.Minas Gerais

• Guillermo Salas Donohue. National Director of SENATI

• Paulo Fernando Presser. Director. Claiton, Paulo Meurer and José Antonio of theSENAIDR. Rio Grande do Sul

• Valter Wicioni of the SENAI−DR São Paulo

• Alexandre Magno Leao dos Santos. Director SENAI−DR Minas Gerais

• Doris Galindo Álvarez. SENA Antioquia Regional Office

• Consuelo Gutiérrez de Quijano. Sub director of Vocational Training and Employment.SENA. Antioquia Regional Office

• Armando Gómez Cardona. Head of the National Construction Center. SENA AntioquiaRegional Office

• Juan Carlos Blandón Estrada. National Center of Footwear and Leather Manufacturing.SENA Antioquia Regional Office

• Nicolás Agudelo. National Construction Center. SENA Antioquia Regional Office

• María Adiela López Cortés. Head of the National Center of Wood. SENA

Antioquia Regional Office

• Agustín Ibarra. Consultant

• Pedro Cabarrús. Consultant.

Finally I wish to thank Natalia Miguez for her relentless search of useful documents

Preface

Quality is not a new issue in vocational training, but the use of international standards within institutions inorder to create new institutional cultures is. In the framework of the implementation of total qualitymanagement strategies, more and more Latin American and Caribbean vocational training institutions areusing international standards, quite successfully, to certify the quality of their training processes.

Cinterfor/ILO has always been interested in the dissemination of new tendencies and routes as well as in thedissemination of good practices, which provide better results to users. Along these lines, this document seeksto disseminate this new phenomenon. It intends to reveal what is going on and to call the attention on thecharacteristics that quality management trends are showing regarding training.

This document does not intend to be a technical reader for the application of standards. Instead, it seeks toreflect the experiences and motivations of those who both inside and outside the institutions have been intouch with these processes. Theoretical references regarding standardization as the philosophical basis ofquality centred on continual improvement have been included in this document. Also, various traininginstitution experiences regarding quality certification are reported and there is a final section where thesubstantial part of a number of standards regarding institutional work is presented.

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Far from making a closure on the multiple interests, initiatives, debates and statements regarding the issue,this work presents various subjects, which probably open interesting controversies. In this sense, it isexpected that this document will contribute to the initial steps towards conceptual advance regarding thissignificant trend towards total quality management. As usual, Cinterfor/ILO will be watchful of reactions anddemands for more information in order to achieve continual improvement of this line of work, which is onlyanother part of the reality of the rich institutional arena of training in the region.

1. The concept of quality management in vocational training

“Measure it twice and cut it only once”Carpentry Workshop, HEART Trust/NTA Training Centre, Jamaica

Quality management has always been one of the main concerns of Vocational Training Institutions (VTIs). Asnational institutions, their interest in offering an adequate answer to national needs implies good quality. Theconcept of management, as it will be explained lately, is a step forward in the route towards quality.

Quality management is an organizational strategy and a method of management, which involves allemployees and seeks to improve continuously the efficacy of an organization regarding customersatisfaction.

CEDEFOP, 1998

Those interested in training, and even more, the customers of the institutions, expect that the provided trainingis related to the abilities and competences required. The growing training demands and the rapid andchanging conditions have imposed to the training offer the need to show that they do a good job. Also, thefunds assigned to training have become so important that frequently an analysis of their correct applicationand specially of their impact is required. This transforms quality management in the training process into arelevant issue.

Key aspects of quality management in educational processes:

• Customer centred• Quality policy• Responsibility, authority and communication• Resources provision and management• Competent human resources• Infrastructure and working environment• Product planning and realisation• Design and development• Buying process• Control of the follow up and measuring devices• Customer’s satisfaction

It is important to point out that the concept of Quality Management developed in this document refers toprocesses1, in this case the processes of vocational training within Training Institutions. There is anotherconception of quality, which approaches the products of training. The first concept, quality management of theprocesses, is the one that the ISO2 9000:2000 refers to. This standard can be resumed in four big moments orphases: direction responsibility, resource management, product realisation and measurement, analysis andimprovement.

1 Process is understood as “an activity or group of activities that uses resources to transforminputs into products or services.”

2 The acronym stands for International Organization for Standardization. It was founded in theUnited Kingdom after the II World War in order to promote international standards to facilitatethe exchange of goods and services.

In the thirties, with the expansion of the series production, statistical techniques were used at the end of

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production lines; therefore, the necessity of inspecting all products was avoided. The costs associated toquality control were lower. Afterwards, intermediate control points along the process were created in orderto anticipate the faults that were only registered in the analysis of the finished product.

The definition of key parameters on certain values of the characteristics of the product, which provide arange of acceptable statistical validity of the product, improved the statistical techniques. In this way, thestatistical control of processes emerged, which was overcome by techniques developed in Japan which intime gave place to the concept of Quality Management and then to the concept of Total

Another concept of quality is centred on the characteristics of the products of the vocational training process.Therefore, it covers the performances in the labour market of the graduates. Different methodologies havebeen used to approach the measurement of the results. These methodologies have developed and evolvedsince the eighties with the so−called boom of quality. They include, for example, statistical analysis ofindicators such as income evolution, labour mobility, etc. Recently, these methodologies have been focusingon the entry into the labour market of graduates, their labour performance according to employers and therelevance of the provided training. The evaluation of training impact is a good example of the use ofinformation to measure quality under the product approach.

In this document quality management regarding vocational training will be analysed from the stand point of themanagement of processes in the institution assuming that an organization which acts according to the implicitprinciples of the quality standard will ensure consistently the quality of its products and the satisfaction of itscustomers.

According to this perspective, many training institutions have defined a quality policy explicitly and as aconsequence developed quality management strategy. This implies to have external and internal referentsand to combine both in order to advance in the fulfilment of goals.

The implementation of a quality management system requires the application of various basic principles:

• A clear orientation towards the customer: to understand and satisfy the customers’ needs

• Continual improvement of the institution activities: quality as a philosophy that never ends

• Defined and consistent processes: Processes are defined and its fulfilment is guaranteed

• Quality guarantee of the processes: The quality of a process comes from the precedingprocesses. In the same way, the quality of a training service reflects the control applied to itsprocess.

• To prevent instead of to supervise and correct: The costs of preventive measures are lowerthan the costs of a close supervision and correction

The organizations, which have implemented the Quality Management, have adopted in general the followingprinciples3:

• Commitment to the direction

• Team Work

• Quality is everybody’s task

• Decisions are based in facts and knowledge of objective data

• Systematic solution of problems. Problems are understood as “everything that can beimproved”

3 ISO 9000 standards applications to teaching and training. EuropeanTraining Foundation. 1998.

The quality standards application has improved since the version of the ISO 9000:1994 standard, which

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privileged the orientation towards ensuring quality and the 2000 version of the same standard. This lastversion has included new features that favour quality by promoting the institution’s commitment to a processof continual improvement.

1.1 Standards and quality assurance

Quality assurance usually implies a comparison between a certain product or service and a standard,previously defined, which establishes the criteria to assess the quality of this good or service.

In this context, the ISO 9000:2000 standard is being increasingly used. This standard refers to the qualityassurance from a general perspective, not specifically associated to a certain product or service. Users arethe starting points. Currently, there is a high valuation of the ISO standards as “quality hallmarks”, amongother reasons this valuation has extended their usage to the VTIs. The 2000 version of the standardadvanced, from the concept of quality assurance of the 1994 version, to the design of a quality managementphilosophy, which incorporates an emphasis in continual improvement.

The VTI, which have incorporated the quality management philosophy, are acting on their processes throughthe development of systematic and consistent definition, documentation and verification. They are acting overthe training inputs in order to achieve their goals. Usually, quality standards are applied according to a wideconception of quality management, which uses the mentioned basic principles.

In fact, the ISO standards refer fundamentally to the consistency and systematization of de processes. Theyconstitute a method to standardize the organization activities and to offer reliability to customers over theexpected quality of products and services. The group of ISO 9000 standards is applied in qualitymanagement; in fact, the ISO standards are not related to the intrinsic features of a given good or service. Inother words, even if a VTI is certified by ISO 90004, competency certification related to the performance of itsgraduates is required.

4 Even if the generic reference is the ISO 9000 standard, it is the ISO 9001 standard the oneused to certify quality.

The series of ISO 9000 standards was adopted in 1987 by the European Standardization Committee andthen globally assumed by ISO in 1994. The last version of the standards is from 2000. The certificationprinciple under the ISO standard is based in the review and an evaluation of the conformity to the standard,which provides a uniform method of quality inspection.

1.2 Quality management, knowledge and institutional learning

Various analyses have shown that when an organization starts a process of quality assurance, there are notonly procedure issues but there is also a key underlying feature. It has to do with the way in which the qualityprinciples are adopted and with the journey through the certifying process because these two instancesgenerate valuable results in terms of organizational learning. These results have been recently analysed inthe literature on knowledge management.

Institutional learning

In many experiences of ISO standards application it has been documented the need of a training process forworkers. This learning is linked to the structure arrangement, improvement and documentation of theprocesses. The persons involved in the processes should question themselves, explicit the procedures,document them and then apply them.

In this procedure, overlapping and voids are found in different activities and the search for solutions by thework in−group results in the application of new knowledge and of previous experiences. The analysis of theprocesses introduces new ways of learning5. Training institutions can, therefore, take advantage of thegenerated knowledge and reapply it in order to promote learning. In this sense, learning forms such as“learned lessons” or “good practices” shape what is known as “knowledge generated in the workingprocesses”6. The documentation of processes, its analysis and continual improvement offers an extraordinaryopportunity to learn to the VTI and to make explicit the knowledge that is usually applied.

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5 Mertens, Leonard: 1996.6 Peluffo, Martha; Catalán, Edith: 2002.

The above is exemplified in the activities of development of processes of enrolment, registration, evaluation,didactic and material development. The analysis and improvement of these processes has allowed for thedevelopment of institutional capacities that today are reflected in the design of training workshops andcentres, electronic training media, evaluation material, etc.

It is true that the standards are vulnerable to the permanent risk of over definition, and that these debateshould not be avoided. To detail processes and to describe steps and procedures has a threshold of efficacyrelated to the problem of over specification, which undermines and eventually nullifies the descriptive capacityof documentation. In terms of knowledge management, the process of documentation is a process ofknowledge codification and in this activity “the abuse of codification can reduce the learning spaces andproduce in the long term stagnation in the evolution of the organization”.7

7 Villavicencio, Daniel; Salinas, Mario: 2002.

Knowledge management

Today knowledge is valued as a resource, probably the most valued one in the context of VTIs. VTIs areorganizations devoted to the generation of knowledge related to training. Their more valuable asset is totranslate the work demands into training programmes: codified knowledge, which has the capacity to fosterthe development of labour competences.

After the eighties, when all kind of remarks were done to the training institutional model, the alternativemodels showed its deficiencies regarding their ability to generate knowledge related to training. The capacityto gather knowledge, educational capacities, design and training methodologies, qualified teachers andprocesses of teaching/learning is a product of the know−how of the institutional organization of training.

VTIs have shown, since the second part of the nineties, that they have that capacity and they have appliedtheir knowledge to develop new ones, to innovate in the programmes and to apply new methods.Undoubtedly, the codification developed in the processes of quality management allows for this accumulationand for the usage of it in training. This is one of the potential advantages of the use of a quality certificationsystem in the VTIs.

The capacity to innovate that the VTIs show reveals that partners can put into practice the accumulatedknowledge and experiences and therefore generate new pedagogical products. The organizational context isfundamental and the specific intention of the VTIs to improve their capabilities facilitates the establishment ofprojects and working areas that promote knowledge generation. Tacit knowledge will be turned into explicitknowledge and then the certification process can be expanded and used in the whole process.

The VTIs oriented to knowledge “learn” through the storage, mobilisation and management of theirexperiences and information. The interaction with the entrepreneurial sector, the data on the economic sectorevolution and the occupational contents are all elements of knowledge accumulated and generated in theworking process.

The documentation of the processes that support the accumulation and generation of knowledge has a strongrelation to the codification done during the certification processes and to quality. That part of the knowledge isincluded and codified in the manuals and established procedures where besides defining a quality policy it isnecessary to do a clear enunciation of the vocational training process, of the persons in charge of qualitymanagement and also of the responsibilities according to each process.

The global and regional recognition

The labour market is becoming more and more complex and less traditionally organized. The old traditionalseparation between time of work and time of study, work place and home, place of work and place of study isless defined nowadays.

Also, the number of training offers has increased. Now, not only traditional VTIs prevail. Sometimes thedemand volume and sometimes the complementary existence of funds for the contracts of training have

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incremented the number of training institutions.

These offers are varied and widely different which brings forth a need for a service quality reference, from thestandpoint of both customers and public sector. In this case the concern about quality comes from those whowant to be trained, those entrepreneurs who want to invest in training of their workers and those who providefunds.

In the European Union within the continuing training mode (directed to involved workers) the use of qualitystandards is very extended. This type of training is usually developed with funds which can be used bydifferent institutions.

Since 1989, the EN 45013 standard “General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons” isapplied. This standard was the base of the ISO 17024 adopted by ISO for international application.

This is the reason why quality certification mechanisms are being increasingly applied in a highly competitivemarket. Many European countries where the funds for training are used through auditing processes betweenprivate and public specialised agencies seek to have a quality criterion, which allows for reliability whenresource allocation has to be decided. In these cases the quality standard certification has been positivelyaccepted. In Chile, a version of the ISO 9001 quality standard has been elaborated in order to adapt theoriginal to the technical executioner training agencies and these agencies have been motivated to start thecertification process.

2. Quality Management in vocational training institutions

The increasing entry of new actors in the training scene, the availability of a blend of new financial funds andthe necessary specificity sought from training programmes are, among others, the factors that have influencedin the genesis of the modernisation processes of the institutions. Currently, the processes of transformationand adaptation to change are priority issues in the VTIs’ agenda.

The customers, training users in a diverse market, increasingly require knowing the best and more qualityguaranteed offers. Both entrepreneurs and workers seek for efficiency signals. The financial resourceproviders are also interested in the best usage of the invested funds in vocational training. Quality−managedinstitutions represent a social guarantee to the efficiency of the public expenditure in vocational training. Thesame reasoning can be applied to the private funds: they must go to agencies that develop relevant, efficientand effective training processes.

Quality and technological development

Some vocational training institutions are involved in the national quality policies and work in association withthe national standardization and certification agencies. This joint work is evident by the certification of theirTechnological Development Centres (ISO 17025) to give services of metrology or rehearsal which arerequired for the fulfilment of the quality standards of different products in the national and internationalmarkets. This is the case of the National Technological Centres of SENAI and the efforts of theTechnological Development Centres of SENA. They also developed training and assistance activities forenterprises during the implementation of quality management systems. This service is more and moreavailable as part of the institutions’ services. This is the case of the Small and Medium Enterprises ServicesCentres of SENATI which provide training with an emphasis in the improvement of quality.

The growing interest in improving the efficiency and relevance of their activities is reflected in the adoption ofquality management mechanisms and certification of quality.

This tendency is expressed by the adoption of institutional actions towards the development of a qualityculture. Such actions, usually embedded in the philosophy of continual improvement or in the processes ofinstitutional modernisation, imply training activities for the personnel, search for critical factors, andclarification of mission and objectives, which in turn lead to institutional quality improvement.

Quality Management and Environment in Vocational Training

SENAI in the Ceará State, in the North East of Brazil developed a project of environmental managementsystem in the textile industry, which allows for the ISO 14000 certification of three units of one of the most

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important entrepreneurial groups of the sector. It worked together with the Regional Department of SãoPaulo and Santa Catarina. Ceará concentrates 10% of the textile GDP of Brazil with 350 enterprises andmore than 60 thousand total jobs.

This year SENATI achieved the 14000:1996 ISO certification. The training institution of the Peruvianindustrial sector exemplifies the environmental impact in electrical energy consumption, waste disposal, andnoise pollution in workshops. Special attention deserves the environmental content of the trainingprogramme and its relation with working practices.

On the other hand, some key aspects regarding organizational competitiveness are reflected clearly in theworkers’ labour performance. Nevertheless, the courses of the training programmes do not necessarilyrepresent such aspects. Many times these aspects have to do with the learning environment. In issues relatedto Occupational Health and Safety a series of standards, which seek to preserve the adequate workingconditions, have been developed. If the learning environments reflect conformity to the standards, certaincapabilities of the participants, which have to do with their competent performance, can be developed. In thisway, a vocational training institution which develops a good practice of conformity to international standardson occupational health and safety in their workshops will be contributing to the development of participants’core skills. Something similar is taking place, for example, in the area of environmental protection and 14000standards. In fact, many training activities are developed according to those standards which foster thegeneration of core skills and the employability of participants.

Simultaneously, institutions have been looking for a quality external hallmark and have adopted the guaranteeof quality certification of the ISO− 9000:2000. All the services available at the institution can obtain qualityrecognition by the certification of conformity to certain standards. This is the case of the laboratories, whichprovide technological services certified by the ISO 17025.

But also the adoption of the quality philosophy and the process of certification imply the conformation of anorganization supported by knowledge. Much of the knowledge accumulation process existent in the traininginstitutions can be defined as knowledge accumulated in the working processes. In effect, the majoradvantage of institutional vocational training is the development of training institutions as learningorganizations.

2.1 Some experiences on quality certification in vocational training institutions

In Europe, since the beginning of the nineties, and later on in Latin America, the VTIs started activitiestowards quality management and guarantee. The first institutions implemented the total quality managementmechanisms and almost all of them seek the ISO 9000 standards certification. In this section someinstitutional experiences8 will be described and a review of the information obtained by a survey of theinstitutions which obtained the quality certification in the last years will be presented.

8 It will not be an exhaustive review. In the cases where information was available, theexperiences are included.

The National Industrial Training Service (SENAI) of Brazil has one of the oldest experiences of the regionwith antecedents in the regional Department of Santa Catarina of the application of the 5 “S”9 programme andthe subsequent recommendation for the ISO 9000:1994 standard obtained in 1997. They have also acquiredcertification in the Regional Department of Paraná (in 1997 the Technological Institute of Paraná was the firstvocational training institution of Brazil that got the ISO certification), Espirito Santo and Pernambuco. Also, theNational Department of SENAI was certified with the ISO 9001 standard applied to planning, development andco−ordination of strategic projects and operative improvement projects.

9 Japanese quality management system oriented towards the promotion of order andcleaning. The 5 “S” refer to: Seiri − to tidy, Serton − to order, Seisou − to clean, Seiketsu − tomaintain, Shitsuke − to discipline.

As antecedents of the work towards quality management in SENAI the following can be mentioned:

• Participation in the General Sub Programme III of the Brazilian Programme of Quality andProductivity (PBQP) in the role of coordinator institution in 1992: “Education and Training of

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Resources.”

• Participation in the Commission of the General Sub Programme IV of the PBQP − 1992 −“Adaptation of the technological services for quality and productivity.”

SENAI is the vocational training institution for the industrial sector in Brazil. It was established in 1942 and itis in one of the oldest training institutions in Latin America. SENAI has 417 centres and 317 mobile units.

www.senai.br

Since 1993, SENAI started to widely use an internal quality management and recognition system in itsTraining Centres, which certified them as “Model Centres of Vocational Training” or “National Centres ofTechnology”. The system was inspired by the criteria of the Quality National Programme: ProcessManagement, Leadership, Strategic Planning, Customer and Market Centred Approach, and InformationResults and Management. It included three progressive levels of conformity to the criteria, which defined threecategories: Bronze, Silver and Gold.

SENAI’s mission:

“To contribute to the strengthening of industry and the total and sustainable development of the countrythrough the promotion of education for work and citizenship, technical and technological assistance,production and dissemination of information and adaptation, generation and dissemination of technologies.”

The national project of the National Technological Centres (CENATEC) was a milestone in the work of SENAItowards total quality. Its central goal was to introduce a quality management model in the technical schools.This was a national project, which included the following specific goals:

• To establish a strategic alliance between SENAI and the different social sectors linked to theproductive sector in order to improve the technological training of the country.

• To create a network of competency poles in the different technological areas.

• To consolidate quality management in the Technical Schools.

• To absorb, adequate and disseminate innovation and technology with the objective ofcontinual improvement of the process of teaching/learning.

This programme had a process, which seeks to fulfil the strict requirements of the national quality premiumthrough the following stages:

• Conception through Planning (Strategic Management centred in Planning)• Implantation (Total Quality Management)• Evaluation (National Quality Award)

Quality Policy of SENAI, Regional Department of Pernambuco:

“To seek for excellence in quality, based on the following principles:

• Continual improvement of services• Development of partners, promoting continualgrowth• To satisfy and surpass the customers’ needs.”

Lately, in 1996, because of the success of the CENATEC process, the National Department of SENAIdeveloped another project to achieve total quality management in the learning schools. Its objective was toinstall in the CEMEP (Vocational Training Model Centres) the quality principles oriented towards training forwork. Currently, these projects continue to be in execution and are known as SENAITEC and CEMEP. SENAIhas 45 SENAITEC and 56 CEMEP. The SENAITECs are part of a Network of Centres which cover areas

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such as Textile Industry, Food Industries, Leather and Shoe Industries, Sanitation and Environment, Celluloseand Paper Production, Wood and Furniture Industry, Foundry, Food, Mechanics, Refrigeration andConstruction Industry, among others.

The SENAITECs are poles of generation, adaptation and transference of technology. They developvocational training activities and provide services to the industrial sector such as assistance in theproductive process, laboratory services and technological development and information. All this isdeveloped according to the strict criteria of the National Quality Premium and the ISO standards.

Since the mid nineties, the clear orientation towards quality management of the institution made it possible forseveral Regional Departments to start the process of quality certification of the ISO 9000 standard. This wascaused not only by the idea of promoting schools managed with a quality policy but also by the needs ofcompetitiveness originated in the entrepreneurial sector. Nowadays, the quality management is part of theconception of institutional management and has the feedback of the trends generated in the Brazilian industry.

In the following map the different Regional Departments with ISO 9000 certification are shown, as well as thelaboratories which have achieved the ISO 17025 certification:

SENAI − ISO CERTIFICATION DISTRIBUTION BY REGIONAL DEPARTMENTS

Among the Regional Direction which have achieved the quality certification are: Alagoas (AL), Amazonas(AM), Bahia (BA), Ceará (CE), Distrito Federal (DF), Espirito Santo (ES), Minas Gerais (MG), Paraná (PR),Pernambuco (PR), Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Rio Grande do Norte (RN), Santa Catarina (SC), São Paulo (SP)and Sergipe (SE). Totally, SENAI has more than 180 quality certifications and some more for the nationaldepartments’ headquarters. Also, there are 35 certifications still in process.

The participation of the different Regional Directions in the definition and establishment of a quality policyco−ordinated with economic actors in each state is remarkable.

In this way, SENAI uses different management tools oriented towards the creation of a learning organizationthat is capable of day to day improvement in its training process and, therefore, fosters the competitivenessand productivity of the Brazilian economy.

The National Commercial Training Service (SENAC)10 in the Regional Administration of Minas Geraisdeveloped a quality certification process under the ISO 9000 standard. The Certification was achieved in July2000 and was validated through the first auditing of maintenance in February 2001. The coverage of thecertification is wide and it was provided on the educational projects of more than 300 vocational trainingcourses: from planning and provision of resources for the creation of a course and attention during enrolment,to analysis, validation and standardization of pedagogical and management courses which guarantee thequality of courses and the evaluation of results, orientation and follow up of the student since he/she finishesthe course and faces the labour market.

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10 Based on an article from SENAC’s Digala Publication (Giane Rita de Souza Ferreira,Manager of process management, SENAC, Minas Gerais.)

The SENAC was created in January 1946. It is a Vocational Training Institution open to the whole society.Its mission is to develop persons and organization for the working world through educational activities andthe dissemination of knowledge in the trade of goods and services.

www.senac.br

The starting point for the implementation of a Quality Management system in SENAC was the action ofsensitising the managing group, the creation of Quality Coordination and the assignation of Quality Managersfor each unit. Afterwards, training activities and specific events for the staff of SENAC were developed. A totalof 750 employees participated in those activities. As a result of all these work, SENAC achieved:

• Standardization of the processes, which facilitate the preservation of the know−how of theinstitution.

• Standardization of the vocational training courses which are adequate to the changes of theworld of work.

• Better commitment and participation of everybody in the processes and results.

• Analysis of the pedagogical process to guarantee the viability of the vocational trainingprocesses

• Establishment of goals, results indicators and controls to monitor effects and results oftraining activities

• More effective relation to the customer through a better attention that starts right atenrolment, quality courses monitored and validated by the pedagogical supervisor and mainlythe relation teacher/student which has the basic premise of respect, transparency and aims atbetter results.

“A decisive factor was the participation of all the workers who saw in this process the opportunity ofoptimisation of actions, standardization and reliability of procedures and results, reducing repetitions andsubsequent stress at work, as well as the commitment of the high direction who accompanied, supportedand provided the necessary resources for the implementation, maintenance, continual improvement of theQuality Management System.”

SENAC Minas Gerais

The National Rural Training Service (SENAR) in its administration of Minas Gerais, which was establishedin 1993, has as one of its main foundations the quality of the services. It established the SENAR Total QualityProgramme where various methodologies were applied such as: TeamWork, Strategic Analysis, 5 “S”, “qualitycoffees”, quality panels and the quality newspaper, among others.

The processes were registered and made available to all, so that there was transparency in the working of theinstitution. In 1999, SENAR−MG achieved the ISO 9002:1994 certification. Currently, the institution ispreparing the technical auditing for the ISO 9001:2000 certification.

The National Training and Employment Service (SENCE) from Chile was the first public service in thatcountry to obtain a quality certification of the ISO 9000 family. In January 2000 received the certification thatstates that the process of Constitution of Training Technical Agencies in the Metropolitan Region “fulfils therequirements ISO 9002:1994 quality standards.”

But also in Chile a quality standard has been developed for the executionary technical training agencies(OTEC). It is the Chilean Standard 2728:2002. The OTEC can execute training under contracts financed withpublic funds, which are assigned through competing procedures and the access depends on solid and

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generalised quality criteria. The SENCE is promoting the use of this standard for the OTECs as a mean togenerate a quality management system and a continual improvement in the provided training.

The National Training and Employment Service (SENCE) is a technical decentralised state agency,which is related to the state through the Ministry of Labour. Its mission is to contribute to increase thenational productivity promoting vocational training among enterprises and among low−income people. Thiswork is supported through an incentive that the state offers to enterprises to train personnel and by asubsidy to a training programme financed through public resources.

Currently, in Internet there is a guide of self−evaluation for the OTECs. More than 400 agencies haveregistered their names stating their interest in the process and more than 130 have started the process ofself−evaluation. The process has had the support of SENCE, which has organized dissemination seminariesalong the country and meetings between the OTECs and the certification bodies. Support instruments for theimplementation of the processes are being designed.

The stages to develop and to implement a Quality Management System in the OTECs according to theChilean Technical Standard 2728:2002 are:

• To assess needs and expectations of customers and other interested parties.

• To establish the quality objectives and policy of the agency

• To define the process and necessary responsibilities to fulfil the quality objectives

• To determine and provide the necessary resources to achieve the quality objectives

• To apply this measures to establish efficacy and efficiency of the process

• To determine the means to prevent disagreements and to eliminate its causes

• To establish and apply a process to continuously improve the system of qualitymanagement

The National Training Service (SENA) from Colombia achieved in April 2003 the ISO 9001:2000 certificationof three of its training centres in the Antioquia Region. The certificates were National Construction Centre,National Wood Centre and National Leather and Shoe Centre. Previously, the Planning Sub Direction of thatregional office had achieved the ISO certification. The institution has started, in the framework of its strategicplan, the process that allows for the certification of its 114 training centres. Its goal is to achieve it before theyear 2006. The SENA also provides technical assistance to the enterprises that apply to the ISO certification.

The National Training Institute (INA) from Costa Rica is one of the first institutions that began the process ofquality assurance. It achieved the ISO 9000:1994 in its Accreditation Unit in June 1998. Follow up auditingwas developed in December 1998 and June 1999. This unit is in charge of verifying the suitability of thetraining offer of other institutions and compares them to the offer of the Institute. An institutional policy of theINA stated: “To design and execute programmes and projects, which allow for quality assurance of internaland external management of the services provided to employees and users.”

As an antecedent of the certification of its Accreditation Unit, the INA had obtained the best qualification inan evaluation among 29 public institutions in Costa Rica. The evaluation was conducted by the NationalEvaluation System (SINE).

The Technical Institute for Training and Productivity (INTECAP) from Guatemala successfully developedthe process towards the obtaining of the quality certification under the ISO 9000:2000 standard. The processended with the recommendation for certification in November 2002. The scope of the quality managementsystem of INTECAP included in the certification is “the study of labour markets, the design and developmentof training services oriented by labour competence and of training services with traditional certificationdeveloped in the INTECAP centres and in enterprises, as well as the provision of technical assistanceservices.”

INTECAP is the vocational training institution, which promotes with state and private contribution thedevelopment of human resources and national productivity. It started its activities on May 19 1972 and its

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main goal is to train workers and new manpower in different economic activities through vocational trainingevents. INTECAP trains three typical occupational levels: Executive, Medium and Operational, in the threeeconomic sectors: Rural, Industrial and Commerce and Services.

In the current context of technological innovation, growing competitiveness and productive economicglobalization, and the flexibilization of the labour market, INTECAP had to modernise in order to adequatelyattend the productive sector in terms of human resources development.

INTECAP vision:

“We are the leader institution in vocational training of workers and of human resources that will enter intothe labour market.

We see the institution’s future related to the design and development of training plans and the promotion ofproductivity in order to contribute significantly to the country’s development.

These actions are developed expediently, with quality and excellence, going beyond our customers’expectations.”

A remarkable feature of the INTECAP experience is the fact that the quality certification is part of the wide andsuccessful process of institutional modernisation initiated at the end of 1998. The plan of modernisationincluded:

• To define a document for the modernisation of INTECAP

• To establish the basis for an organic restructuration: organigrams at the level of Unit,Division and Department

• To define a schedule to start the process

The modernisation project included the following orientation elements:

• Changes in the process, both in value and in support• Redefinition of the concepts of mission, vision and values• Redesign of the technical and administrative process• Acknowledgement of the importance of the orientation towards total quality• Design and implementation of a horizontal organizational structure

Furthermore, the modernisation management was organized around seven sub processes:

1. Appointment of the Heads of Division, Unit and Department, as well as employees thataccording to the Constitution must be appointed by the Directive Board

2. Preparation for the establishment of a total quality culture

3. Redesign of the main institutional processes.

4. Definition of an organizational structure and a pilot plan of implementation.

5. Administration of human resources.

6. Regionalization

7. Consolidation of an institutional image.

The Council for Standardization and Certification of Labour Competence (CONOCER) from Mexico wascertified in February 2000, with the ISO 9001:1994 in acknowledgement of the adoption of efficient systemswhich show their capability of assuring quality in the process of design, development, production anddistribution of their products, as well as in the offer of associated services.

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CONOCER is conceived today as the coordinator of a schema through which people can access continuingtraining, which is based on standards that represent the consensus of the productive, labour and educationalsector. It is a quality entity in itself, oriented towards the improvement of quality of enterprises, workers andtraining institutions (www.conocer.org.mx).

In Peru, the National Service of Occupational Training in Industry (SENATI) received the ISO 9001:1994quality certification11. After a strong national effort, the institution obtained the Certification for its VocationalTraining Programmes: Dual Learning, Workers in service qualification, Industrial Technicians, IndustrialManagers, Industrial Qualified Workers, Engineering Technicians, Continuing Training, Multimedia Training,Informatics; and, the Job List.

11 Bureau Veritas Quality (BVQI)

SENATI was created in 1961, at the initiative of the National Society of Industries, when it was evident thattraditional vocational training and technical education did not offer the qualifications required by modernproductive activity. After an intense transformation process initiated in 1993, SENATI decided to implant aclear quality policy and it applied the ISO certification. The process of certification started in 1998 and itsfirst achievement was the quality certification of conformity to the ISO 9001:1994 in the year 2000. Thiscertification was followed by the joint certification ISO 9000:2000 and ISO 14000 in March 2003.

The Technical Services of Tests and Non Destructive Manufacturing, Assistance and Consultancy for Smalland Medium−sized Enterprises were also certified in the forty−one regional offices. In March 2003 SENATIobtained the ISO 9001:2000 quality certification and the ISO 14001:1996 environmental management systemstandard. It was the first institution of the region that obtained this certification on environmental managementpolicy.

The philosophy of quality management of SENATI can be resumed in the following big steps:

• Institutional Reestructuration between 1993 and 1998.• Certification Process ISO 9001:1994 between July 1998 and December 1999.• ISO 9001:1994 certification in the year 2000.• ISO 9000:2000 and ISO 14001:1996 certification in 2003.

The steps followed by SENATI to obtain the certification are:

• National Council agreement to implement the quality system.

• Initial training to Directors and Chiefs on the ISO 9000 standard.

• General training to all personnel using a modular courses design and a clear evaluationsystem.

• Quality policy approving by the National Council.

• Definition of SENATI’s products and customers by the National Direction.

• Creation of working groups to write and review the documents of the system.

• Internal auditors training.

• Approval of the Quality Manual, Organizational Manual and General Functions andDirectives by the National Council.

• Approval of the Control Directive of the System, Quality Plans and Specific Directives by theNational Director.

• Internal Auditors in regional offices.

• Pre certification Auditing.

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• Certification auditing.

SENATI defined the following institutional processes for the stages of documentation and certification:

INSTITUTIONAL PROCESSES IN THE QUALITY CERTIFICATION OF SENATI:

One of the most demanding features of the quality assurance process is the definition and specification of theprocesses, particularly if the institution provides a training service. Therefore, an interesting institutionaldiscussion took place in order to make an adequate definition of customers and products.

REGIONAL OFFICES OF SENATI CERTIFIED BY THE ISO 9000 STANDARD

SENATI’s quality policy: To offer information, vocational training and technical services of a quality levelabove the users’ requirements.

Management Policy: SENATI assumes the commitment to promote permanent customers’ satisfactionregarding vocational training and technical services, assistance and consultancy. Therefore:

− SENATI manages processes systematically, providing necessary resources to improvethem continuously

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− SENATI promotes professional development and welfare of the personnel to achieveefficient and effective institutional performance

− SENATI complies with the environmental legislation and regulations

Certification of the FORCEM quality system in Spain

Since the late nineties, FORCEM, the institution in charge of the Subsystem of Continuing Training in Spain,promoted a process of definition of its quality system. With that objective, training activities of co−ordinators inareas related to the ISO 9002:1994 standard were developed. After the elaboration of the working timetableand the definition of the necessary documents, the process, which included 155 procedures, started. TheProcedures and Quality Department − Organization and System Direction − conducted the coordination andcriteria unification as well as the project control.

In September 1998, given the scope and responsibility of FORCEM in the national context, FORCEM decidedto present to AENOR the petition of certification.

It was considered an ambitious project in which almost all the personnel participated. At the end, thisparticipation was one of the key factors of success of the initiative, which achieved the quality certificationaccording to international standard UNE−EN−ISO−9002 in July 1999.

2.2 Brief Survey on quality management: motivations, benefits, learned lessons

A short survey was applied to the institutions that obtained the quality certification and to some experts in thesubjects in order to identify the main features, the relevant variables and the lessons learned throughout theprocess of quality certification.

The perspectives that emerged from the survey have been classified in seven categories: motivations,suggestions for the initial stages, changes in the organizational environment and culture, direction role,captured benefits, recommendations and challenges.

2.2.1 Main motivations

Among the factors which promote the beginning of the process of quality assurance, it is often mentioned thecompetitiveness factor. Usually, as SENAI of Rio Grande do Sul pointed out, the enterprises turn to the ISOcertification in order to improve their competitiveness. In the case of the VTIs, it seems to exist a mixture offactors. Among these factors, the need to improve processes and the consequent benefits in the functioningof the institution must be highlighted. Image reasons are also mentioned. The following list is a synthesis ofthe mentioned motivations:

• To make available a course design quality pattern.

• To improve the institutional image, to achieve national and international recognition.

• To accompany the evolution of quality management according to the enterprise dynamics.

• To have a good quality institution with a philosophy of continual improvement.

• To reveal to society the capability of the institution to carry out a quality management.

• To make available tools for management.

• To face the pressure of the growing number of certified enterprises among their provisionchain.

• To offer a better service to customers and workers who participate in the programme.

• To seek efficiency which derives from the application of the eight principles of qualitymanagement.

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• To have clear and documented processes which saves time and money.

• To generate more credibility and reliability regarding institutional services.

• To guarantee the attention to customers’ needs.

• To improve possibilities of personnel development.

• To rescue the technical unity through the standardization of the processes.

• To put in practice the institutional legislation.

It is clear that the institutions that worked in the processes of certification maintained an open relation withtheir customers. They are also conscious of the need of a competitive and quality oriented image. Theinstitutions have usually developed a wide base of standards, regulations and procedures. The answer of theRegional office of Antioquia of SENA underlines the applicability achieved when processes are standardizedand the unit is reconfigured in its technical procedures.

2.2.2 Suggestions for the initial stages

The varied experiences allow for the collection of suggestions which range form the strict observation of theformal steps defined in order to achieve certification to issues such as the adequate commitment of involvedparties and the perception of the process as a medium time effort, as the person in charge of SENATI pointedout. Here are some of the suggestions:

• To look for the participation of all the personnel.

• To have a direction with a clear perception of the process, the available resources and therequired time.

• To know that it is a long−term process.

• To communicate how the process is being conducted at all levels of the institution.

• To involve the personnel in the process.

• To facilitate the standardization of institutional processes.

• To take into account the incompatibility between the educational and entrepreneurialapproach of the standard.

• To establish quality objectives and policy.

Agustín Ibarra, one of the surveyed consultants, resumed the suggestions in three groups: systematic visionand process management approach, personnel active participation and responsibility, and finally theexistence of good information systems and registration that allows for a better knowledge of the customers.

2.2.3 Changes regarding the organizational environment and culture

The true dimension of the change will be measured by the organizational environment and culture. Qualitymanagement, according to an interviewee produces a paradigmatic break and change in the traditional way ofthinking and acting. It is significant that the interviewees sees the process as a sustainable change towardsthe creation of a quality culture and not as an isolated effort towards the obtaining of certification. SENARfrom Minas Gerais mentioned the need to break barriers and to create working groups of differentdepartments and functional areas of the institution. Some considerations on the changes regardingenvironment and culture quoted in the survey are:

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• To develop a participation−oriented, creative and innovative leadership to affect positivelyorganizational environment and culture.

• To review traditional practices and patterns in order to promote better working practices.

• To develop a culture of consultancy of processes documentation.

• To manage human resources in connection to the organizational objectives.

• To develop working groups in different areas.

• To develop a better attitude towards customers demands.

• To develop a whole vision of the institution which overcomes the isolated vision of each onein their own working area.

The experience of SENAI of San Pablo is very illustrative of this point. The interviewee answer insists on thedevelopment of a vision of the macro processes. The probability of success in the implantation increases if therelation and interaction between different departments increases. SENAI also mentions the joint work ofteachers and personnel. Finally, the need to guarantee that all personnel has access to information on thestatus and evolution of the project, which fosters a culture of open and transparent information.

2.2.4 Role of management in the process

“Actions are more eloquent than words” wrote the responsible of INTECAP. This seems to be the message,which resumes the role of direction in the process. Leadership is the word more used among the interviewees.According to Agustín Ibarra, the role of direction is crucial, specially if we consider that the direction is one ofthe responsible parties regarding the adoption or not of a quality model.

The following list resumes the main answers:

• To establish the quality policy and objectives of the institution.• To exercise a leadership which promotes personnel participation.• To create and maintain a good internal environment.• To explain clearly the motivations of the institution.• To persuade personnel.• To move the resources to maintain the quality management system.• To make clear the importance of attending customers needs.

2.2.5 Captured benefits

According to an interviewee, the ISO 9000:2000 standard concedes more importance to the resourcemanagement and the measurement of results, which leads to better managerial practices and improvement ofefficiency. The answer of SENATI is concluding: certification has improved the quality of training. The benefitsmore frequently mentioned are:

• Improvement of the institutional image and credibility.• Planning, organization and control of vocational training activities.• Increase in the number of customers (students and enterprises).• Customers satisfaction. Measurement of the customers satisfaction.• Better perception of responsibilities.• Quality of the training services.• Cost reduction.• Trust in the institution’s products.• Less internal conflicts and more interaction between different areas.• Improvement of the organizational environment.

The SENAR from Minas Gerais highlighted the following benefits for society:

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• Better guarantee of the fulfilment of objectives fixed by law.

• Better possibility of result evaluation and guarantee of correct application of resources.

• Better guarantee of the use of concepts such as ethics, citizenship, sustainable productionand reduction of environmental risks.

The SENAI from San Pablo captured the following benefits that deserve to be quoted:

• Clearly defined goals and objectives.

• Adequate environment of teaching/learning.

• Offer of educational products adequate to real needs of customers.

• Systematic monitoring of customers satisfaction.

• Permanent up date of training services.

• Coherence of all training process stages from planning and development to follow up ofgraduates.

• Shared vision at all levels of the institution.

• Resource optimisation.

• Better communication between departments.

2.2.6 Recommendations on the process of quality certification

“To train, to train and to train.” This seems to be the most important recommendation of those who havetransited the road of quality certification. The indispensable actions of the process are to train de coordinationgroup, to train the area co−ordinators, to train the employees. The responsible of SENAI Minas Gerais statedthat all the processes required a high level of maturation. This maturation will have a lot to do with the trainingculture and opportunities and with the teamwork.

• To have a good definition of mission, vision, values and to achieve the total commitment ofthe personnel.

• To create a management team where members know the training business.

• To plan the process as a project.

• To choose on advance the certifying agency in order to create a good communication andwork dynamics.

• To train the working groups.

• To facilitate the process standardization.

• To choose a responsible for the quality management with prestige, credibility, knowledgeand easy access to workers.

• To insert the process as part of the improvement of the institution.

The SENA Regional Office of Antioquia suggests to manage the implementation process with assignedresources, goals, achievement indicators, administrative and management structure. It also suggests toco−ordinate the quality project with the institutional policies.

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In addition, the SENAI from San Pablo, probably conscious of the great effort implementation implies,included in one of its recommendations “to celebrate certification.”

2.2.7 Challenges posed by the quality management process

This section can resume in a certain way the lessons learned along the process. Most of the challenges haveto do with the institution’s internal level.

To achieve commitment and to involve everybody seems to be one of the challenges to work on. But in ourunderstanding, other challenges related to the maintenance of the system and, more over, to achieve a realchange in the culture and practices of the institution emerged. The answers of the survey are quoted in thefollowing list:

• To achieve the commitment of employees.

• To accept the paradigmatic break and the standard adaptation to an educational institution.

• To define the concept of customer in education.

• To interpret the ISO standard requirements on educational terms.

• To obtain consensus on the standardization of operational procedures.

• To achieve the personnel participation out of genuine interest.

• To make the entrepreneurial approach compatible with the educational approach on thestandard interpretation.

• To assimilate the derived changes of the implantation.

• To overcome the uncertainty produced by changes.

• To understand standards as important management tools.

• To develop a true “Quality Culture” and to change the traditional references and patterns.

But the answer of SENATI resumed a key aspect of the processes of changes “we have to have a qualitysystem where the most important thing is the people.” This statement goes together with the idea of a moreflexible institution which detects needs and is adaptable.

Basic lessons from the European experiences

They are resumed in three big areas. In the first place, the standardization processes in these experienceshave created a tension between the typical desegregation of standardised description and the need of apractical and functional process. This is well resumed in the idea of balancing a certain level of pragmatismagainst the fundamentalism that represents standardization in its extreme way. In order to carry outprocesses, the redaction cannot be done looking constantly for perfection.

In the second place, national institutions are required to give signals to enterprises and workers regarding thereliability of the processes and the quality of results. In many cases, governments are looking for signals ofcertainty on the institutional mechanisms of resource assignation and execution of public policies on training.

In the third place, quality management and the consequent quality certification of training institutions offers agood tool to maximise the institutional capability of capturing and disseminating knowledge on work. One thingis the quality management and another is the quality of the performance of the graduate, which is measured interms of labour competency.

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3. Three quality standards in perspective

This last section is included with an illustrative aim. It seeks to contribute to clarify the kinds of standardsrelated to vocational training and those that can be applied in the institutional quality management andprocesses related to vocational training. In the first place, the standard on institutional management (ISO9000:2000) is analysed, as well as the synthesis of two proposals adapted to educational institutions. In thesecond place, the standard related to personnel training processes within an organization (ISO 10015) ispresented. Finally, the standard on certification of persons (ISO 17024) is analysed.

3.1 Standard on quality management

Among the standards published by ISO, the more internationally known is the group of ISO 9000 standards.This group of standards describes the way of carrying out Quality Management and the set up of the qualitysystems and continual improvement of an institution. Along these lines, the ISO 9000:1994 has been usedand the ISO 9000:2000 is actually in use. These standards are centred in the processes, independently of theproduct or specific service of the institution.

The group of ISO 9000 standards describes the requirements for the implantation of a model of qualitymanagement in a given organization (See Annex 1). The 2000 version of this series of standards has beenpublished emphasising its application to service organizations. In this way, it seeks to decrease the need forcreating specific standards for each industrial level, as would be the case of educational and traininginstitutions.

The quality management model of the ISO 9000 standards has the objective of achieving a greater efficiencyin its processes and provides products and services that satisfy the customer, improving the quality andcompetitiveness of the organization.

According to Baeza and Mertens12, the difference between the 1994 version of the quality managementsystem and the 2000 version is that the first one standardises and assures quality through a static vision whilethe other is supported by an integral and dynamic conceptualisation of continual improvement directedtowards the customer satisfaction.

12 Baeza and Mertens: 2000.

The ISO 9000:2000 has the objective of promoting an organization which provides a product or serviceaccording to the customers requirements and regulations achieving customers satisfaction as well as theprevention of disagreements and a process of continual improvement.

ISO 9000:2000 and the human resource management based on labour competency

A key aspect of the last version of the ISO 9000 standard is its connection to the human resourcesmanagement systems. In effect, within the requirements of the standard in terms of personnel the provision ofcompetent personnel is stipulated. The organization must determine the required personnel competenceprofiles and evaluate the effectiveness of the training provided for those functions that directly affect quality.The enunciation of the standard represents a transcendental change because of the inclusion and treatmentof the human resource in the quality management system.

ISO standards and training:

The 2000 version of the ISO 9000 was more specific than the 1994 version in terms of the characteristics ofthe personnel of a certified enterprise. The 1994 version requested “documented procedures in order toidentify the needs of training and to train all the personnel who works in activities that affect quality. Thepersonnel assigned to specific tasks must be qualified through education, training and/or adequateexperience according to requirements.”

Regarding resource management the 2000 version states: “the personnel who works in activities that affectthe quality of the product must have competency based on education, training, and appropriated abilitiesand experiences.”

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The inclusion of labour competencies in the ISO 9001:2000 standard is an important step towards the creationof an integral concept of quality and fundamentally towards the practice of human resource development.

This process implies a new complexity introduced in the ISO quality standards. It is not the same to treat andevaluate processes than individuals. The challenge will consist of not loosing the strategic approach, for whatand whom is the competence model, and to maintain a flexible model which understands the human resourceas a group of individuals with different needs of development and objectives which must agree with those ofthe enterprise.

As INTECAP13 states, “the 2000 version includes fundamental aspects of the human resource managementas the involvement of the personnel and the physical and human conditions of the working environment. Itplaces labour competency in coordination with the other sub systems of human resource management.

13 INTECAP 2001

The new version of the standard includes:

1. Identification of the competency profiles.

2. Evaluation of the training effectiveness.

3. Coordination with other subsystems of human resource management.

4. Selection and assignation of personnel according to shown competencies.

5. Training oriented towards competencies development.

6. Assurance of personnel consciousness regarding the importance and relevance of theiractivities and contribution to quality objectives.

7. To maintain the actualisation of personnel educational, training, qualification andexperience records”.

A specific standard for the vocational training process?

Even if, as noted before, the 2000 version of the ISO 9000 was designed with the intention of facilitating itsapplication to organizations of other sectors of the industry, the training institutions which have applied thestandard have to seek for equivalencies for the different terms used in the organizational environment such ascustomer and supplier. Within training institutions, an interesting discussion has been centred on the problemof who is the customer: is it the participant or the enterprise? And around what is the product: is it the trainingprogramme or the trained and certified worker?

Obviously, the answer has been discussed in the documents on quality system of the certified institutions andin the definition of processes and quality manuals. Nevertheless, two examples have been chosen to showthe adaptation efforts. The first one is an adaptation conducted in New Zealand on the ISO 9000:199414. Itsmain features are described in the Annex 2 at the end of this document. The second one is more recent. Itwas elaborated by the ISO International Workshop IWA−2 created by the initiative of the PMETyC of Mexico.It was based on the ISO 9004:2000 and its purpose is “to provide directions to the voluntary application of theISO 9001:2000 on educational organizations that provide educational services at all levels. These directionsdo not add, change or modify the requirements of the ISO 9001:2000 and are not thought for contracts,conformity assessments or certification purposes” (See Annex 3). The project is now in its international stageand is co−ordinated by the administrative unit of the PMETyC.

14Guidelines for the quality standard systems AS/NZS ISO 9001:1994 for education andtraining. Australia Standards. New Zealand Standards. 1995.

Towards a ISO 9000 in educational institutions:

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In October 2001 in Birmingham, England, during the meeting of the Technical Committee 176, a group ofMexican organizations took the initiative of proposing a project guideline for voluntary use in order tofacilitate the application of the ISO 9001 in the organizations of the educational sector at all levels andmodalities.

The later adhesion of other countries provoked the approbation by the ISO Technical Council of the IWA−2project “ISO 9001:2000 application in education” co−ordinated by Mexico. The mechanism to achieve aninternational agreement was a workshop established by ISO (International Workshop Agreement − IWA).

The IWA 2 guideline seeks to support Mexico and other countries in their programmes of quality educationalimprovement.

Programme of Modernisation of Technical Education and Training of the Public EducationSecretary. PMETyC Mexico 2003.

Also, in Latin American countries, adaptations of the ISO 900:2000 standard have been conducted. In Chile,the Chilean Standard NCh 2728:2002 directed to the Technical Training Agencies that conduct trainingactivities for enterprises and workers in general. The standard is oriented to promote the orientation of trainingtowards the coverage of needs and expectations of customers. Since these needs are permanently changing,OTECs are asked to update their offer permanently.

On the section on human resource management it is emphasised the fact that the high management of thetraining agencies has to ensure the availability of the necessary competences to enable the effectiveoperation of the organization. The model of human resource management implies the analysis of the futureneeds of competences and compares them with the available ones so as to elaborate the plans for personneldevelopment.

Definitions of the NCh 2728:2002

Customer: Worker, enterprise, employer, internal customer (within the training programmes), organizationor group of enterprises that asked for a training service. The competent authority can also be seen as acustomer

Participant: Person or worker who assists to a training activity.

When this document was written, the complete text of the NCh 2728:2002 was available at:www.sence.cl/normacalidad

Other adaptations of the ISO 9000:2000 for educational institutions known during the elaboration of thisdocument are: the Argentinean Standardization Institute IRAM “Guide for the interpretation of the IRAM−ISO9001 for education”, the Commission of Technical and Commercial Regulations INDECOPI of Peru “Guide forthe application of the NTP−ISO 9001:2001 in the Education Sector”, and the Spanish Association ofStandardization and Certification − AENOR. The Peruvian Standard does a complete enumeration of thedifferent processes to be controlled in the development of the educational service, such as the processes ofstudent admission, curriculum design, evaluation system, graduate follow up, budget management,equipment, student services and educational supervision as well as continuous monitoring systems.

The Spanish adaptation developed an approach in which the quality standard has the purpose of offeringreliability to customers, including students, parents, tutors, internal customers, enterprises and society ingeneral, ensuring that services satisfy customers. It clarifies that satisfaction includes complying with currentlegislation and regulations and with internal regulations of the organization.

3.2 The standard for the processes of training and development of human resources

This standard (ISO 10015:1999) refers to the process of human resources management of the organization,particularly, to the training and development stage. It is not used to certify. Its purpose is to establishdirectives on training. The constant evolution and changes of the market, technology, innovation andcustomers requirements and expectations which can impose to the organization the necessity for an analysisof needs regarding competences is the starting point of the standard.

Personnel training is an effective option to overcome the changing context mentioned above, allowing for the

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closure of the gap generated between required and existent competences in an organization. It definestraining as a process that produces and develops knowledge, know−how and necessary behaviours to fulfilrequirements. It understands competences as putting into practice the knowledge, know−how and behavioursduring the execution.

Therefore, the training process would make it possible to improve the organization’s capabilities and toachieve the organization’s objectives regarding quality, producing and developing competences. If training isunderstood as a continual progress factor, it emerges as an effective and productive inversion (see annex 4:Document: Quality Management. Guidelines for training. ISO/DIS 10015:1999 standard).

3.3 The certification of bodies operating certification of persons

This year was established the ISO 17024:2003 standard “General requirements for bodies operatingcertification of persons” based on EN 4501315 which is applied in Europe since 1989. Even if the ISO 9000standards do not apply to individual competence recognition, the application of the quality certification logichas been widening its ratio towards the agencies in charge of the competence certification. In fact, thecertification of persons has been a field of specialised work in Europe. It was extended together with thenational standard model in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

15 This is a voluntary standard issued by the European Standard Institution. Its members arenational organizations in charge of accreditation in 18 European countries: Germany, Austria,Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Holland, Ireland, Iceland, Italy,Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Sweden.

The 45013 standard is used in Europe specially for the recognition of acquired competences as a result ofexperience or informal training actions. It applies to third part agencies that certify those competencesindependently on how they were acquired.

Some terms of the ISO 17024:2003 standard:

Certification process: All the activities conducted by a body in order to assess a person’s competency. Itincludes evaluation, decision over certification and re−certification, use of certificates and logotypes/trademarks.

Certification arrangements: Certification requirements for a particular category of people who will gothrough the same certification procedure and standard application.

Certification system: Set of procedures and resources needed to carry on the certification process thatleads to a competency certification, including maintenance.

Competency: Proved ability to apply knowledge and/or abilities and capability of proving relevant personalattributes according to the certification arrangement.

Evaluation: Examination process to assess a person’s fulfilment of certification requirements. It leads to thecertification decision.

Exam: Mechanism that is part of the evaluation. It measures the competency of a candidate using one ormore, oral or practical, means.

Qualification: Proof of the attributes based on education, training or labour experience.

The ISO 17024 standard specifies the requirements to assure that the certification agencies that conduct theprocesses of certification of persons conduct their operations in a consistent, comparable and reliable way16.This standard does not deal with the quality management system applied by the agency. In other words, thisstandard does not substitute the eventual ISO 9000 certification.

16 Certification for persons − ISO/IEC DIS 17024. General Requirements for bodies operatingcertification of persons, ISO Bulletin, October 2002.

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The standard seeks to maximise the reliability that the certification agencies have among the interestedparties in the certification through their independence and impartiality regarding candidates and certifiedpersons. It also asks for the necessary measures to ensure an ethical operation.

An aspect to highlight regarding the usual discussion generated in the institutional certification model is theexpressed mention on the standard regarding the certification agency: “it cannot offer or provide support toothers in the provision of training services unless it demonstrates that training is independent of evaluationand certification of persons and assures impartiality, objectivity and confidentiality.” In the Europeanexperiences of certification of persons, the remarks regarding the independence of the training andcertification processes (not the complete separation of the institutions) is growing in order to guarantee thetransparency of the process.

A 1998 research of the European Union concluded: “This standard is not widely used, but it could be a usefultool to achieve later processes in terms of quality guarantee of the competence certification process. It canalso contribute to the construction of an European accreditation system.”

There is another interesting aspect related to this standard which underlines the use of occupationalstandards or the so called “labour competence standards.” The quality scheme in the application standards iscentred in the competence certification. A competence certification based on an approved standard is aperformance quality guarantee. The mechanisms of competence certification and the ways in which standardsare created and put into practice are issues to discuss and document.

A general description of the content of the standard can be consulted in the Annex 5 “General requirementsfor bodies operating certification of persons”, included in the ISO/IEC DIS 17024 standard.

3.4 Concluding remarks

A panoramic view of the standards referred in the above sections shows a repertoire of options regardingquality management in different aspects of training. In the effort of implementation it is important to considerthe use quality management represents for the institution and the applicability of the standard, as well as, itsinsertion in the organizational environment and culture.

The quality model proposed by the ISO 9000:2000 is based on a process management and concedesimportance to customers’ satisfaction and to the enterprise−customer relationship. It makes clear thenecessity of personnel training in the organization where the standard is implanted. This standard does notspecify the required training neither the guideline to identify training needs. Nevertheless, the ISO 10015standard “Quality Management. Directive Guidelines for training” offers a series of guidelines regardingpersonnel training. This standard proposes a four−stage process: definition of training needs, training design,training promotion and training results evaluation.

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Personnel training in an organization is an option to improve the organization’s capabilities and achievementof quality objectives. At the same time, the project of the General requirements for bodies operatingcertification of persons ISO 17024 indicates the requirements which certification agencies should fulfil on theprocesses of certification of persons. It can be a good complement for the institutions that provide educationand are interested in the application of the quality model ISO 9000 because it gives guidelines directly relatedto the competence certification to the customers of these organizations. This is true specially in institutionalmodels, which have services of evaluation and certification of persons, or even in the centres of the institution,which can provide certification services maintaining adequately documented processes in order to ensure thetransparency of the evaluation.

The standard can also be useful for the certification of the personnel trained according to the project of thestandard “Quality management. Directive guidelines on training” (ISO 10015), as well as for persons whohave not received a training course and have acquired training on experience. The certification ofcompetences usually implies the formal, public and temporal recognition of the labour capabilities of theperson. It is important to underline that the certification of persons approach is more close to the idea ofprevious knowledge recognition because it includes the evaluation of competences of the candidate withoutconsidering how they have been acquired.

The concept of quality management implies creating a set of policies and actions with the support of thedirection which facilitate the mobilisation of the VTIs towards a quality culture that goes beyond the lonecertification process in itself. This is a crucial issue in the adoption of quality management; the task goesbeyond the documentation of processes. It implies a commitment to a new way of doing things in order toachieve objectives from the beginning. This commitment involves the whole organization.

Training is part of the needs of organizations that adopt quality management. This reinforces the role of theVTIs as providers of training services and reveals the necessity of a provision of quality services. At first sight,

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it can be believed that the certification process implies a large set of process creation and documentation.This was one of the strongest critiques to the ISO 9000:1994 standards. As a consequence, the 2000 versionis focused on the creation of the concept of continual improvement centred in the optimisation of processeswithout forgetting the personnel training needs, the personnel participation and the orientation towardscustomers’ satisfaction. The certification process is an opportunity of institutional learning and of knowledgemanagement applied to training.

The adaptation of the ISO 9000 standard to educational institutions is requiring more work lately. In thisdocument two related experiences have been presented. Nevertheless, the experiences of certifiedinstitutions regarding the elaboration of their quality handbooks have to be considered. These handbooksrepresent, undoubtedly, an extensive accumulation of knowledge on training. Much of the institutionalknowledge and the definition of processes, interactions, inputs and products were deposited in thehandbooks. This effort is offered to all collaborators of the institution to facilitate interaction and work. The useand creation of the documented handbooks and procedures, as well as the continual improvement, areessential parts of quality management.

Annex 1. The International Standardization Organization (ISO) and the ISO 9000family of standards

17 UNIT: 2002.

The ISO elaborates international standards and guidelines taking into account the interests of users,suppliers, scientific communities and governments. These standards have a wide scope covering all fields,with the exception of the electric and electronic technology that depends of the IEC (InternationalElectrotechnical Commission).

It also establishes standards and guidelines to evaluate conformity. ISO elaborates the requirements ofproducts and systems certification, as well as the requirements for the accreditation of system, personnel,product certification agencies and the calibration and rehearsal laboratories accreditation through theConformity Assessment Committee (CASCO).

The International Standardization Organization (ISO) is an international federation of nationalstandardization associations which has the purpose of promoting standardization and related activities inorder to facilitate the exchange of goods and services and contribute to international co−operation at thescientific, economic, technological and intellectual level.

www.iso.org

Among the standards published by ISO, the most internationally known is the ISO 9000 family of standards.This group of standards describes the way to carry on quality management and the creation of thecorresponding quality and continual improvement systems in a given organization.

In 1987, the first version of the ISO 9000 standards was published. These standards are the reflection of theinternational consensus of specialists in this field. The Technical Committee No. 176 (ISO/TC “QualityManagement and Quality Assurance”) created within the ISO in 1979 was in charge of the elaboration ofgeneric standards with international application regarding this issue.

In 1994, the first revision of the standards was finalised (ISO 9000:1994) and then a second revision wasconducted which was published in December 2000 (ISO 9000: 2000). In this revision it was important toensure that the standards were applicable to all type and size of organizations. The intention was also toavoid the creation of quality management systems for specific sectors.

The ISO 9000 standard revision is based on the following eight quality management systems established inthe ISO 9000 and 9004 standards:

• Customer focus• Leadership• Involvement of people• Process approach

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• System approach to management• Continual improvement• Factual approach to decision making• Mutually beneficial supplier relationship

The ISO/TC 176 Committee also elaborates particular management programmes based on the ISO9000:2000 for sectors that need them. Other initiatives were taken into account in the revision of the standardsuch as the bases for the National Quality Award or the Total Quality Management programmes.

The approach based on processes

This is probably the most important feature of the ISO 9000 standard. Among the ISO 9004−2000 family ofstandards (Quality Management Standards. Directives for the improvement of performance) this approach isspecified in the following way:

“This standard promotes the adoption of an approach based on processes to develop, implement and improveefficiency and efficacy of a quality management system, in order to provide satisfaction to all interested partsthrough the fulfilment of its requirements”.

In order to have an efficient and effective functioning, an organization has to identify and manage severalinterrelated activities. A given activity, which uses resources and manages them in order to facilitate thetransformation of inputs into results, is considered a process. Frequently, results of a process constitutedirectly the inputs of the following process.

The application of a processes system in an organization, together with the identification and interactions andmanagement of these processes, can be referred to as an “approach of processes.”

An advantage of this approach of processes is that it provides control over the connection between individualprocesses within the system of processes, as well as over its combinations and interactions.

When it is used on a quality management system, this approach gives emphasis to the importance of:

• Understanding and fulfilment of requirements• The need to consider processes in terms of their contributing values• Obtaining of results based on performance and efficacy of processes• Continual improvement of processes based on objective measurement

The following standards make up for the ISO 9000:2000:

ISO 9000:2000 (Quality management systems. Fundamentals and vocabulary). It substitutes the ISO 8402standard (Vocabulary) and it is based in the 9000−1:1994 (Guidelines for system implantation). This standardis not used for certification.

ISO 9001:2000 (Quality management systems. Requirements). It is used to get system certification. Itdescribes the quality management requirements to assess the organization’s ability to meet customersatisfaction. This standard substitutes the ISO 9001:1994, ISO 9002:1994 and ISO 9003:1994 standards.

ISO 9004:2000 (Quality management systems. Guidelines for performance improvements). It providesguidelines but it does not describe requirements, thereby, it is not used for certification. It provides guidelinesfor continual improvement of the organization and satisfaction of all parties. This standard substitutes the ISO9004−1/2/3/4:1994.

ISO 19011 (Guidelines on quality and/or environmental management systems auditing). It substitutes ISO10011 (Quality auditing) and ISO 14010/11/12 (Environmental auditing).

Annex 2. Guidelines on quality systems. Part 5: Guidelines for the AS/NZS ISO9001:1994 Quality system standard on education and training

18 It is a joint standard of Australia and New Zealand elaborated by the joint technicalcommittee QR/2. Service Quality. It was published on 5 July 1995

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The purpose of this standard is to guide educational and training institutions to develop and implement aquality system based on the ISO 9000 standards. This guide does not intend to establish requirements or addand modify requirements already described in the standards. It seeks to facilitate the interpretation and theapplication of ISO 9000 standards to educational and training institutions. It must not be understood assupplementary standards of the ISO 9000.

For each ISO 9001 requirement, this guide facilitates the interpretation of certain aspects, giving in somecases generic examples, as well as in other cases, explanations and specific examples regarding traininginstitutions.

ISO 9001:1994 ISO 9001: 2000 Guidelines on quality systems for educational and traininginstitutions (Australia − New Zealand)

Provider:organization thatprovides acustomer with aproduct.

Provider: Personor organizationthat provides aproduct

Education provider: a school, college, university, trainingorganization, assesment centre; a department or section within acollege, university, training organization or assesment centre or atraining unit within a company, industry body or governmentdepartment.

Customer: Thereceiver of theproduct suppliedby the provider.

Customer:Person ororganization towhom a productis supplied

Customer: a student, a student’s parents or employer; a companyor organization with whom a research contract, consultancyagreement or a training contract is entered into; an internalcustomer (i.e. within the education provider’s own organization); agovernment, regulatory body, accreditation body and similar; arelevant society group, such as parents and citizens group, andsociety as a whole.

Product: result ofprocesses andactivities

Product: result ofa process

Product: provision of an educational environment, a curriculum andother resources or community services for enhancement ofskills/knowledge/understanding/ attitude/values and also includingresearch outputs.

Annex 3. Terms and definitions for educational organizations on the “Guidelines forthe ISO 9000:2000 application proposed on the IWA−2”

ISO 9000:2000 IWA−2 Proposal

Customer Organization or individualwho receives the product

In the field of education or training a customer can be:

Consumer: it is usually the student

Customer or buyer: it is usually a person or agency thatfinances the student; it can also be the student

Final user: it is usually the person or the organization thatbenefits from the acquired learning.

Stakeholder Person or group who has aninterest in the performanceor success of anorganization

A stakeholder can be a customer, parents association,other educational organizations or the whole society: agroup can involve an organization, a part of each or morethan one organization.

Process Activity that employsresources and managesthem to facilitate thetransformation of inputs intoresults

Process which has the result of an educational product.Educational products cover different type of learningactivities such as training, adult education, primary,secondary or university education.

EducationalProduct

Product related to education. An educational productusually involves a service supply that includes intellectual

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informational software and somehow computer software ordocuments based on the hardware, which contribute to thetransference of information and the permanence of themfor future reference

EducationalOrganization

Organization which provides educational products

Educator Person who delivers an educational product to students.The term used varies from country to country andaccording to the educational level, for example: teacher,instructor, facilitator or professor.

Annex 4. Quality management guidelines for training. ISO 10015:1999

This standard is designed with the purpose of guiding and supporting organizations in the identification andanalysis of their training needs, the design and plan of training, the evaluation of training results, and themonitoring and improvement of the training process in order to achieve its objectives. In its presentation, thecontribution of training to the process of continual improvement is highlighted.

Training: a four−stage process

The standard defines the scope, the regulative references, the terms and definitions. It describes the generalguidelines regarding personnel training of an organization (training understood as a four stages process),training purchase, personnel involvement and finally the four stages of the training processes are detailed.

The four stages of the training process (ISO 10015:1999)

Stage 1: Defining training needs

The organization should define the competencies needed for each task that affects the quality of products,assess the competency of the personnel to perform the task, and develop plans to close any competencygaps that may exist. The definition should be based on an analysis of present and expected needs of theorganization compared with the existing competencies of its personnel.

Stage 2: Designing and planning training

The design and plan stage provides the basis for the training plan specification. It implies that definingrelevant items (legal, financial and availability aspects) which constrain the training process should be

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determined and listed in order to design resources.

Stage 3: supply of training

The responsibility of the training provider is to carry out all the activities specified for the delivery of thetraining in the training plan specification. As well as providing the resources necessary to secure theservices of the training providers, the role of the organization in supporting and facilitating the training mightinclude supporting both the trainer and the trainee and monitoring the quality of the training delivered. Thetraining support may include activities such as providing relevant tools, equipment, documentation, softwareor accommodation to the trainee or the trainer, providing adequate opportunities for the trainee to apply thecompetence being developed and giving feedback on task performance as requested by the trainer and/ortrainee.

Stage 4: Evaluating training outcomes

The purpose is to confirm that both organizational and training objectives have been met. Within a specifieda specified time period after the trainee has completed the training, the management of the organizationshould ensure that an evaluation takes place to verify the level of competence achieved. Evaluations shouldbe carried out on both short−term and long−term basis and should include the collection of data and thepreparation of an evaluation report which also provides an input to the monitoring process.

Monitoring and improving the training process

The main purpose is to ensure that the training process, as part of the organization’s quality system, isbeing managed and implemented as required so as to provide objective evidence that the process iseffective in meeting the organization’s training requirements. Monitoring involves reviewing the entiretraining process at each of the four stages and the identification of further opportunities for improvingeffectiveness of any stage. Appropriate records should be maintained of the various monitoring andevaluation activities conducted.

The ISO 10015:1999 standard does not add or modify the requirements of the ISO 9000:2000 standard. It is aguidance on educational and training aspects included in the standard requirements. It containsrecommendations for the development, implementation, maintenance and improvement of strategies andsystems for training that affect the quality of products. It can be applied to any type of organization, such aseducational organizations, to achieve the training needs of its own personnel.

Annex 5. General requirements for bodies operating the certification of persons.ISO/IEC DIS 17024

19 It was elaborated by ISO7CASCO WG 17. It is a revision of the EN 45013:1989.

This international standard specifies the requirements for the agency that certifies persons, ensuring that thecertification agencies operate in a consistent and reliable way. It is included among these requirements theimportance of ensuring that the personnel of the certification agencies guarantee impartiality. It also describesthe development and maintenance of a certification scheme for persons. This schema is a managementsystem that allows to carry on the certification process.

The certification process is the process by which the certifying agency certifies that a person fulfils thecompetency requirements previously specified. Through this process the labour capabilities of a person areformally and temporally recognised no matter how they were acquired.

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Summary of the stages developed in this standard project:

− In the stage of “certification application” the certifying body will provide to the applicant adetailed and updated description of the certification process for each certification scheme aswell as a specification of the certification requirements and a specification of the rights andobligations of the certified person. Finally, the body will require from the applicant a form andsignature according to specified criteria in the project of standard. The certifying body ensuresthat the personal data and certificates will not affect the evaluation.

− In the “evaluation” the certifying body has to review the application in order to ensure that itis adequate both regarding the capability of the body of providing the certification as well asregarding the required training. It has to specify the criterion of planning and structuring of theexams, which are part of the evaluation. The form in which the certification body will evaluatethe abilities and aptitudes of the candidates according to the requirements of the certificationscheme is described. It is specified that the certifying body will adopt procedures that ensurethat the evaluation of performance and results are appropriately documented.

− The certification body on the basis of data collected during the certification process takesthe decision on the certification of a candidate. Those who take that decision must notparticipate in the evaluation or training of the candidate. The certifying body provides thecertificate maintaining the property. The format and content of the certificate is described.This document must be signed or authorised by the responsible authority of the body.

− In the supervision and re−certification procedure, the certifying body must specify therequirements of surveillance and re−certification according to the regulation documents,ensuring that the certified person fulfils the updated certification requirements. This body willestablish procedures and conditions for the maintenance of the certification according to thescheme of certification. The certification body provides a logotype or certified trademark.Certificates and logotypes/trademarks will be documented regarding use, rights andrepresentation by the certification body. The certification body will require that the personsigns an agreement on certain aspects specified in the project of the standard. Finally, itspecifies the measures that have to be taken in case of inappropriate references tocertification or of inadequate use of certificates or trade marks/logotypes.

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